A pub in the home village of an MP at the centre of a homosexual murder scandal has just been named North Devon's pub of the year.

The Bell Inn has scooped CAMRA North Devon's most prestigious award for the second year running.

Located in the rural village of Chittlehampton, where former Liberal Democrat leader Jeremy Thorpe established his constituency, the Bell is renowned for its good food, selection of beers and wide variety of gins and spirits.

The pub featured in the recent television series telling the story of the Jeremy Thorpe affair, entitled A Very English Scandal.

Mark and Lynn Jones of the Bell Inn at Chittlehampton (Image: Rob Tibbles)

It was outside the pub where Thorpe, played by Hugh Grant, bumped into Norman Scott, played by Ben Wishaw, while they were passing through the village.

Today the pub is owned by Mark and Lynn Jones who run the establishment with their two children.

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It was originally purchased by Lynn's parents David and Susan back in 1975 - the same year Jeremy Thorpe is alleged to have ordered the murder of Norman Scott, which instead ended with the shooting of Scott's Great Dane, Rinka.

David and Susan ran the pub until 1988, when they decided to put the pub out for tenancy.

Hugh Grant bears an uncanny resemblance to Jeremy Thorpe

Mark said: "We were nicely asked if we would like to come and run the pub for a few weeks while the tenants were changing over.

"31 years later and we are still here - with my two sons Matthew and Kyran now working with us."

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To be in with a chance of winning the CAMRA (The Campaign for Real Ale) Pub of the Year prize, pubs are vetted to a strict criteria.

The branch membership nominate establishments to be considered before a select judging panel of 12 members agrees a shortlist.

Camra judge pubs on the quality and selection of their beer as well as other factors like cleanliness and accessibility (Image: Rob Tibbles)

All panel members then visit and score each of the shortlisted pubs to assess the quality of the beer - on not one but at least two separate occasions.

Marks out of 10 are then given for each of the following categories:

Quality of beer (Double weighting applied to this score)

Style, décor, furnishing & cleanliness

Service, welcoming and offering efficient service and a full pint

Community focus and atmosphere

Alignment with CAMRA principles

Overall impression

The pub is renowned for its eclectic collection of stuffed and wall-mounted animal heads (Image: Rob Tibbles)

The scores are then collated and, if necessary, after further debate, a single winner emerges.

The Bell Inn has scooped the award for two years on the trot now.

Landlord Mark said the continued success of the pub was not only good for them, but also "great for the village".

A spokesperson for North Devon CAMRA said: "For the second year running, it is with great pleasure that The Bell at Chittlehampton wins Pub of the Year. Once again Mark & Lynn have maintained the high standards we have come to expect from them."